Fake news: No, the Washington Redskins are not changing their name to the Redhawks

Eric Morrow of BuzzFeed News is spreading the word that someone has put together an elaborate hoax to make it look like the Washington Redskins are changing their name to the Washington Redhawks. The hoax consists of mock-ups of news stories on sites like The Washington Post and Bleacher Report.

There's an elaborate hoax going around about the Washington Redskins changing their name to the Redhawks. Someone made fake WaPo, ESPN, SI and Bleacher Report pages for it (the urls are all wrong) pic.twitter.com/KoadRYdwjX

Yeah, I don't think it's just supposed to be a fake news hoax. I think it's supposed to show how simple it would be to switch the name. Instead of "change the name to something else," the campaign will become "change it to Redhawks like this"

Yes, there is a working website and Twitter account, all to show how easy it would be to change the name. The website does come with a disclaimer:

DISCLAIMER: This website is a parody and is not endorsed by the Washington football team, the NFL, Dan Snyder, or any of their affiliates because, in 2017, these people think it’s still OK to use a racial slur for their mascot. This website was created by Native advocates to help us all imagine how easy and powerful changing the mascot could be. See our press release for more details.

However, the Redskins have already said the name is staying. What does the public think of the team’s statement?

This debacle made me realize that I desperately want the @Redskins to change their name. I actually liked Redhawks and I loved the logo. As a progressive, likely the most hypocritical aspect of my life is my fandom for this stupid terrible team with its racist name. https://t.co/FSpEA8yGmi

I'm gonna cheer for you guys no matter what the name is, because I love football and I love my hometown. But Snyder's ownership has robbed a great fanbase of a once great organization. It's time for you and Bruce to leave. Fans just want to cheer for a respectable franchise again https://t.co/jRFhaj8Oxa